The IPMA Met Office has said there is more than an 80% chance of hurricane Lorenzo hitting the mid-Atlantic islands.

In a statement published last night, the IPMA said the eye of category 4 hurricane Lorenzo would pass “very close” to the archipelago on Wednesday, with gales of up to 200 kilometres per hour expected.

The storm briefly strengthened to a category 5 hurricane on Saturday evening, becoming the strongest hurricane on record this far north and east in the Atlantic, but has since been downgraded